Perceptions of Meritocracy and Students' Educational Expectations in the Chinese Context

• In Event: Navigating Education Across Geographic and Institutional Contexts

Abstract

How does perception of meritocracy relate to students’ educational expectations? Whether and how does perception of meritocracy moderate the association between students’ SES and educational expectations? Using China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), I found that while perceiving non-meritocratic factors (family’s wealthiness, social capital) as major determinants of success is associated with lower educational expectations, belief in meritocracy does not motivate students, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, to have higher educational expectations as well. In fact, believing talent or Guanxi (social network/social capital) as the major determinant of success are both associated with steeper SES gradient on students’ educational expectations. This study challenges the palliative/motivating effect of meritocracy and calls for alternative ways to confront structural barriers.

Author

• Siyun Gan, University of Wisconsin - Madison